Could gas prices sink boating?

Marinas prep for season

Both locals and visitors alike spend countless summertime hours obsessed with the rivers, lakes and streams here. They look at it, dip their toes in it, splash around in it and if they can afford to, float their boat on it.

Area marina operators and other boat-related types are anxious about what effect high fuel prices will have on the coming summer's tourism revenues. However, many remain optimistic that those with disposable income will crave the region's beauty and feel obliged to spend their extra cash here.

A sure sign is how boaters already began to make reservations as the region tries to shake off the winter blues.

"It's about on par with where we were last year. The good thing is it's not any worse, though we'd like it to be better," said Mark Simmons, manager at the private Harborage Marina in Boyne City.

He expects the marina's slips to be about half-full this summer, just like last year, though the business benefits by having the only fuel pump in town on Lake Charlevoix, he said.

"We tend to do well on fuel sales."

In Petoskey, a "pretty stable summer" is expected at the city marina on Lake Michigan's Little Traverse Bay, said Al Hansen, Petoskey's parks and recreation director.

All 77 seasonal slips are spoken for and more reservations are coming in. Boaters will cruise the open water come this summer, despite the high gas prices, Hansen predicts.

"I think what we'll find will happen is transient boaters will stay longer and not move from marina to marina as much because of the price of gas being so high," he said. "Once they arrive at a particular marina they will stay there longer before moving on."

State officials also expect continued success at the relatively new Straits State Harbor Marina on Lake Huron in Mackinaw City.

The facility is prepared for its second full season and the hope is more and more boaters will use the place, said Dave Stempky, supervisor with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

"The prediction is to be slightly higher than last year, but cancellations can happen. It's really catching on big time and people love it here. Mackinac Island is the ultimate destination," Stempky said.

However, he thinks gas prices could cause a decline in the number of mid-range boats on the water, the type often owned by working class people. The big yachts and large, expensive, power boats should still create a small Great Lakes recreational navy out there, he said.

Then there are the land-based business owners who also depend on the region's clear and enticing blue waters.

"I'm an optimist and I believe people who go on vacation are still going to spend money," said Mark Lannen, owner of Boyne Recreational Rentals in Boyne Falls.

Lannen owns a fleet of speed boats, pontoons, jet skis and kayaks that he delivers by trailer to customers on Walloon Lake, Lake Charlevoix, Thumb Lake and Deer Lake. He started to buy more fuel-efficient boats when gas prices soared in 2008, a move he believes put him in a good position now and into the future.

"I worry more about the weather than I do about the economy, though," Lannen said.

Hot temperatures and sunny skies will spur people into the region's cool, clean and refreshing waters, he said.

Simmons agrees with him.

"When it's hot out, people will use their boats, regardless of gas prices. It does matter what the price at the pump is, but it's more to do with the weather," Simmons said.